All-American girls
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| Valmeyer junior Kylee Inman eyes a free throw in a game against Dupo earlier this season. Inman and classmate Emily Edler are enjoying strong campaigns for the Pirates. Terry Smith photo |
Juniors Kylee Inman and Emily Edler are the face of Valmeyer girls sports. Faces, that is. You could be forgiven for lumping them together, but the two skyscrapers are, indeed, separate entities.
"It used to be a lot more like that, but I have gotten used to them," Valmeyer coach Paula McNiel said. "It has gotten a lot easier. Their freshman and sophomore years when we watched tape I would have to stop it and check the number to tell who was who. As long as I can see them I know who they are.""We used to get that a lot more our freshman year," Edler said. "We started changing and looking different. I've always been taller than Kylee, but we both have long blonde hair and last year when we watched videos of our games you couldn't tell who was who really. She plays differently than I do, though."
In her early days as a freshman on the varsity squad, Inman, a high-honors student in the classroom, usually appeared as a flash of ash blonde heading for a tangle or scrum. No longer the adrenalized and reckless bombardier, Inman nevertheless retains her speed and intensity.
"I have worked on that a lot," Inman said. "Coach jokes with me because on jump balls I used to just hold on until the ref had to actually tell me to let go. I don't do that anymore because I don't want to foul out. The coaches always remind me 'Kylee, don't foul out.' That's what I have been working on."
Inman is averaging 14.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Edler is averaging 12.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Inman has doled out 56 assists and Edler has 38 blocked shots and the two have combined for 56 steals.
This is the third year running that the distaff Pirates have featured Inman and Edler prominently. Since they were freshman, the pair have given the hoops program a jolt of skill and positivity.
"They work really well as a team," McNiel said. "They look for each other and dish off and work really well together. They are a huge part of our team and when they are having an on night our whole team is having a good night. When things are a little rocky for them it is a struggle. They definitely lead the way for us."
Freshman Corine Inman has joined her sister on the varsity squad, making this dynamic duo a trio.
"It's a lot of fun," Corine Inman said. "We played together when Kylee was in 8th grade and it reminds me of that. We're older now and it's more fun because we get along better.
"I have picked up a lot of stuff from her. I dribble and shoot a lot better because I watch and she shows me what to do. We learn from each other, but I mostly learn from her. Emily and Kylee are both really good influences. I watch them so I can be as good as they are when I am their age."
"Since we hang out together we work well together," Inman said. "It just seems like we see each other without really seeing each other. I'll give Emily a pass and she will come out of nowhere and get it, and the same with me. My sister is on varsity now and all three of us work together well."
"I think it is just because we have been playing together for a while," Edler said. "It's the same with all of us who have been playing together. We just kind of know what each other is going to do and that helps a lot. We are all in the same grade and we get along. Corine and Kylee have been playing together and Corine plays just like Kylee."
Though they dominate the stat sheet, Inman and Edler are quick to give props to their fellow juniors and the rest of the Valmeyer squad.
"(Junior) Sam (Forehand) has the best three-point shot," Inman said. "She and (junior) Michelle (Unterseh) shoot three-pointers really well. Sam is a small forward and she helps a lot. (Junior) Jessie (Spradling) is a rebounding machine. She will box girls out and they won't even know what happened. Katie Himes is a senior but she is just now playing this year and she is doing great. Michelle is a good point guard and helps a lot."
"We couldn't just do it with two people or anything," Edler said. "Everyone on the team contributes, it's not just one person. That's when we really do well, when everyone plays together. When everybody does their best that's when we do our best as a team. We don't do well when somebody is doing it all.
"We help each other out and when somebody is having a bad night we make up for that as a team. It helps a lot since we are pretty much all juniors and have been playing together for a while. We are such a small school and we all have had the chance to have a lot of playing time."
"(Inman and Edler) definitely aren't the whole team, but when they have their game going it spreads to everybody," McNiel said. "It picks up the whole team's attitude and everybody is really able to contribute that way."
Like many of the girls in the area, three-sport stars Inman and Edler have been seduced by the siren song of volleyball.
"People ask me what my favorite is all the time and I just don't know," Inman said. "I grew up playing basketball and have played it since I was in second grade. Now volleyball and basketball are about the same to me. I love playing both. Volleyball really does grab hold of you."
"My favorite is volleyball," Edler said. "Volleyball is more of a team sport. If you have one player doing poorly the play is pretty much screwed up. In basketball you can kind of hide that, but in volleyball you need everybody."
"It definitely helps the other sports," McNiel said. "When they come to me at the beginning of basketball season they are ready to go because they have been playing volleyball and they are conditioned."
Both of Valmeyer's junior starlets are sure to command the respect and attention of colleges from this point onward until they sign their official letters of intent.
"I would love to play a sport in college," Inman said. "I think I would prefer to play volleyball in college. I have been playing basketball my whole life and now I think I am looking more forward to volleyball. I would look for either one."
"Right now I really want to go to (Southeast Missouri State University)," Edler said. "I'm hoping to play volleyball. I've had a visit down there and I've talked to the coaches and they said that it's good that we're getting a head start in junior year. I'm playing club volleyball and they said they're going to come watch, so hopefully that is a good sign."
Not surprisingly the two blondes, distinct and different and special as they are, echo each other in their assessment of the current situation in the valley. Here's hoping the Purple people eat up this time they have with not just one human supernova, but two.
"It is going pretty well," Inman said. "We need to be a little more consistent, but it is fun. We are doing well."
"I think it is going pretty well," Edler said. "Some games we play really well and other games we don't. The main thing is that we need to play as a team."
